Earlier this year Stop Funding Hate was the subject of a complaint to the CIC Regulator, alleging that our work was in breach of the law and amounted to “political” activity. This allegation was wholly unfounded and we are pleased to confirm that it has not been upheld. /1
Self-evidently, #StopFundingHate’s work seeking to persuade private companies not to advertise with toxic media does not fall under the definition of “political” activity outlined in the CIC rules here: legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1788…
/2
Around the world, those challenging racism and campaigning for human rights are frequently subjected to false allegations of illegality & law-breaking. While it's sad to see this happening in the UK, #StopFundingHate will not be diverted by this. /3 frontlinedefenders.org/en/violation/s…
This year has also seen a series of hostile media articles attacking #StopFundingHate supporters following the success of our campaign on GB News. These have prompted a surge in donations to our work:
Even media hostile to #StopFundingHate are acknowledging the impact that our supporters & volunteers have been having. GB News's multi-million pound funders can subsidise it if they want, but the rest of us have every right to say "not with my money": archive.ph/MNkue#selectio… /6
In the past year, a wave of unfounded complaints have been made against civil society groups that have discussed contested issues. Alongside #StopFundingHate, Barnardos, the Runymede Trust & the National Trust have also been targeted. None of these complaints were upheld. /7
A massive thankyou to everyone who's supported #StopFundingHate this year. There's a way still to go but together we're showing the difference it can make when we use our power as consumers to speak out against hate: stopfundinghate.info/get-involved/ /9
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A cash-strapped city council decides not to hold a November 5th event...
GB News then pushes a toxic narrative framing "woke councils" as a threat to "our culture" and falsely claims that Bonfire Night has been "banned"... /1
GB News then pushes the divisive & evidence-free suggestion that "they've singled out Bonfire Night because it's part of British culture", and frames this as part of a supposed wider threat to "British traditions" /2
GB News further ramps up the divisive narrative by suggesting that, in contrast, Black History Month, disability awareness & trans events would never "get cancelled" - with the implication that such events are *not* part of "British culture"... /3
If you work for a major advertiser here are some things your company can do. 🧵
Tell the big social media platforms how concerned you are that the violence on Britain’s streets is being fuelled by online hate and misinformation. /1 campaignlive.co.uk/article/adland…
In the meantime, stopping all advertising on X and Meta will send a clear message about how seriously you take this. It will also ensure that your ads are not aligned with any hateful and dangerous content. /2 campaignlive.co.uk/article/adland…
If you’re already among the many advertisers steering clear of X, going public about this decision can send an even more powerful message, and can also encourage other brands to follow suit. /3 campaignlive.co.uk/article/adland…
Extraordinary that anyone would try to deny that the Daily Mail (among other UK media) has fuelled dangerous levels of racism. 🧵
1/independent.co.uk/news/media/pre…
Research by the UN High Commission for Refugees found that the Daily Mail – and The Sun – showed a hostility towards migrants that was “unique” among the newspapers they sampled across five European countries: 2/ unhcr.org/uk/media/press…
As long ago as 2008, the journalist Nick Davies published a shocking exposé of systemic racism within the Daily Mail newsroom, in his book Flat Earth News: 3/
Congratulations to @Grind for doing the right thing. Sadly they're now getting a hateful pile-on from Twitter accounts with long numbers in their name... Let's show that love is stronger than hate! #StartSpreadingLove
GB News might not like it - but companies are free to choose where they do & don't advertise, and customers are free to speak out & seek to influence those advertising choices...
Well done to @Grind for choosing love over hate 👏👏👏
Today's Daily Mail is ramping up the anti-woke paranoia with some strikingly violent imagery. Is this really what @sainsburys@LloydsBank & @LidlGB want to align themselves with?